John Hutchison Hester (11 September 1886 – 11 February 1976) was a major general in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

who commanded the 43rd Infantry Division during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

.Pacific War Online Encyclopedia - Hester, John Hutchison
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Early career

Hester was born on 11 September 1886 in

Albany, Georgia Albany ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Located on the Flint River, it is the county seat of Dougherty County, Georgia, Dougherty County, and is the sole incorporated city in that county. Located in Southwest Geo ...

. He attended the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

before entering the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York (state), New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 durin ...

. Hester graduated in June 1908 and was commissioned second lieutenant of infantry. He was assigned to

Fort McPherson Fort McPherson was a U.S. Army military base located in Atlanta, Georgia, bordering the northern edge of the city of East Point, Georgia. It was the headquarters for the U.S. Army Installation Management Command, Southeast Region; the U.S. Ar ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

as his first assignment and served there until 1913. Lieutenant Hester participated in the

Pancho Villa Expedition The Pancho Villa Expedition—now known officially in the United States as the Mexican Expedition, but originally referred to as the "Punitive Expedition, US Army"—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the para ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

during 1916 and later was transferred to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, where he was assigned to the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

. He served with the rank of lieutenant colonel as professor of military science and tactics at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

until the end of September 1933, when he was appointed executive officer of the

65th Infantry Regiment The 65th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed "The Borinqueneers" during the Korean War for the original Arawak Native American name for Puerto Rico (Borinquen), is a Puerto Rican regiment of the United States Army. The regiment's motto is ''Honor et ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. Hester spent the next two years there, before he was ordered back to the United States and assigned to the Operations and Plan Section at the

War Department General Staff The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, als ...

. During his service there, he was promoted to the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

on 1 March 1937. His next assignment was commanding officer of the 1st Infantry Regiment in August 1939. Hester simultaneously served as commanding officer of Camp Jackson,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. He was subsequently transferred to the War Department, where he was appointed executive officer of the Reserves and Reserve Officers' Training Corps Affairs. During his service in this capacity, Hester was promoted to the rank of brigadier general on 1 November 1940.

World War II

At the end of March 1941, Brigadier General Hester was transferred to

Camp Wheeler Camp Wheeler was a United States Army base near Macon, Georgia. The camp was a staging location for many US Army units during World War I and World War II. It was named for Joseph Wheeler, a general in the Confederate States of America's Army and ...

, where he took command of the

Infantry Replacement Training Center The United States Replacement and School Command was a training and receiving formation of the United States Army during World War II. History It was established as part of the Army Ground Forces in March 1942, after it was noted that divisi ...

. In October 1941, Hester took command of the 43rd Infantry Division, where he relieved National Guard Major General

Morris B. Payne Morris B. Payne (1885–1961) was an American architect from New London, Connecticut. He also reached the rank of major general in the Connecticut National Guard, commanding the 43rd Infantry Division at the beginning of World War II. Life and ...

. He was promoted to the rank of major general in February 1942. The 43rd Division went overseas in October 1942 and participated in the landings at the

Russell Islands :''See also Russell Island (disambiguation).'' The Russell Islands are two small islands ( Pavuvu and Mbanika), as well as several islets, of volcanic origin, in the Central Province of Solomon Islands. They are located approximately northwe ...

and

Rendova Island Rendova is an island in Western Province (Solomon Islands), Western Province, in the independent nation of Solomon Islands, in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific, east of Papua New Guinea. Geography Rendova Island is a roughly rectangular island, ...

. Hester commanded the 43rd Division during the attack on

Munda Airport Munda International Airport is an international airport adjacent to the town of Munda, Western Province in Solomon Islands. Originally built by Japanese forces during World War II and further developed by the U. S. Naval Construction Battalions ...

held by Japanese forces at the end of July 1943. However, he was relieved of command by Major General

John R. Hodge General John Reed Hodge (12 June 1893 – 12 November 1963) was an American military officer of the United States Army. Hodge commanded Operation Blacklist Forty in 1945. He served as the governor of the American military government in Korea fr ...

on 29 July 1943. The official reason for his dismissal was "exhaustion of combat". Hester was subsequently sent back to the United States and granted two months leave for recovery. He was also decorated with the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

for the success of the initial stages of the New Georgia Campaign. General Hester was appointed commanding general of the Tank Destroyer Center at

Camp Hood Fort Cavazos is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. The post is currently named after Gen. Richard E. Cavazos, a native Texan and the US Army’s first Hispanic four-star general. The post is located halfway between Austi ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

on 23 October 1943. His final assignment was the post of commanding general of the Infantry Replacement Training Center at Camp Croft, South Carolina, where he arrived on 26 June 1944. He finally retired from the army on 28 February 1946 and was decorated with his second

for his service in this capacity.Valor Awards for John Hutchison Hester
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Later life and death

Hester died in Atlanta on February 11, 1976, and was buried at Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs, Georgia.

Decorations

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hester, John H. 1886 births 1976 deaths United States Army Infantry Branch personnel People from Albany, Georgia University of Georgia alumni United States Military Academy alumni United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni United States Army War College alumni United States Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army generals of World War II United States Army generals